A Bosnian war baby who was given the gift of life by Sunday Life readers more than a decade ago has issued a big ‘thank you’ from his new home in America.

Now aged 12, Marko Rajic was only five months old when he flew to Belfast in need of critical surgery to correct a heart-defect.

Little Marko was destined to die before his first birthday without the life-saving operation which was unavailable in strife-torn Bosnia.

The story of the tragic war baby prompted one of the most extraordinary responses ever to a charity appeal in Northern Ireland.

When Sunday Life highlighted Marko’s heart-breaking story — appealing for £5,000 to pay for the life-saving operation — donations immediately poured in and, inside just four days, an incredible £9,000 had been raised.

The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, which performed the surgery, also generously put another £5,000 towards the cost.

Now, 11 years later, Marko’s grateful mum has contacted Sunday Life to thank everyone who saved her son’s life.

Living a new life in Indiana, USA — also made possible through the generous donations of Sunday Life readers — an emotional Kristina Rajic said: “I have never, ever forgotten what the people of Northern Ireland did for my son.

“I want everyone to know that I have not forgotten anything and that I really appreciate what they did for me.

“No words can say how much it meant.”

Kristina was just 20 when she flew to Northern Ireland, having lost her home and all her belongings during the horror of the Bosnian war.

She was a refugee who had also endured the loss of her first-born child, Anna, at the age of just five months due to a heart-defect.

News that her second child, baby Marko, had been born with the same potentially fatal condition and would die without surgery was a devastating blow.

With no hope of the surgery in war-ravaged Bosnia, a desperate Kristina was brought to Northern Ireland by Belfast man Reggie Donnelly.

Reggie brought Kristina and Marko’s plight to Sunday Life and we immediately launched an appeal.

Our readers took the frightened young mum and her baby to their hearts and the staggering response enabled little Marko to undergo lifesaving heart surgery in Belfast.

At the time, a very relieved and happy Kristina, who spoke no English, told us through an interpreter: “I have nothing to give anyone and can never repay the people here for their kindness.

“I want them to know how very, very grateful I am and I will never forget them.”

True to her word, Kristina contacted Sunday Life last week to once again thank you — our readers — and to let the people who saved her son’s life know that he is now a healthy, happy and very bright 12-year-old.

At the time of Marko’s operation it was her dream to escape Bosnia with her family and start a new life in America.

Because so much money was raised towards the cost of the operation, the extra cash was gifted to the family by our readers to help them escape.

When contacted by Kristina, we were thrilled to learn that the money donated did in fact enable the family to make a new start in the USA. But sadly it was not the end of their troubles as Kristina, who now speaks fluent English, explained: “We had to wait two years to get our papers for America and, as part of it, we had to undergo a very thorough medical examination.

“During my medical, it was discovered that I had a hole in my heart and would need open-heart surgery.

“I had the operation when I was 23, shortly after we got to America. Marko also needed another heart operation when he was five.

“We have been paying medical bills ever since, but I have just finished college and graduated with

medical qualifications which will hopefully get me a job in a hospital as a medical administrator.

“My husband Radoslav is a builder and the most important thing is that we are well.

“I am very homesick and, because of the medical bills, we have never been able to go back and visit our families in Bosnia.

“Marko is just great. He is in fifth-grade and has lots of friends, and is a typical 12-year-old who loves video games and sport.

“He is very bright and gets all A and B grades — and is very polite and well-mannered, and I am very proud of him.

“It is because of the people of Northern Ireland that he is here today — a normal healthy kid, enjoying his life.

“I can never thank everyone enough.”